Pita congratulates new PM, asks him to address ‘crisis of confidence'
Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat disclosed on Friday that he had called Srettha Thavisin to congratulate him on becoming Thailand’s new prime minister.
Pita said that he phoned the country’s 30th PM to offer him his good wishes over his election by the Thai Parliament.
He asked the new prime minister to restore the country’s unity while running his government for all Thai citizens.
As his party is now in the opposition, Pita said Move Forward would focus on performing its duty of checks-and-balances to ensure that the new government is free from corruption.
Srettha, a prime ministerial candidate of the coalition leader Pheu Thai, secured majority support from Parliament at a joint meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives on Tuesday. He won 482 votes from 750 parliamentarians, with 165 votes against and 81 abstentions.
He received the royal command endorsing his appointment at a ceremony held at the Pheu Thai headquarters on Wednesday.
Move Forward won the most number of MP seats in the May 14 general election, but Pita failed to gain majority support from Parliament required to secure the top political job.
When asked what he expected the new PM and his government to do, Pita said that they should address what he called a “crisis of confidence” in the Thai government in particular, and in Thailand in general over the past several years.
“I heard Srettha say that he would be the people’s prime minister. I hope he could do that. As long as he is aware that the ultimate power belongs to the people and he listens to the people, I believe that he can do it,” Pita said.
He was speaking to reporters while campaigning for a Move Forward candidate contest the upcoming by-election in Rayong province.
Pita predicted that Srettha would face difficulty running his government as it includes rival political parties from a wide political spectrum. Also, he pointed to the tense negotiations with coalition partners over ministerial posts.
